Conquering Everest

I had barely caught my breath from plummeting down a massive hill when I opened my eyes to see that the track in front of me had been destroyed. I nearly pushed a hole in the floor beneath my feet in a feeble attempt to stop the vehicle from jumping off the side of the mountain. Just before jumping into oblivion, the vehicle stopped – along with my heart! I had just enough time to make one of those “God-deals.” You know, one of those deals where I promised God that if he would get me off this ride alive, I’d be a better person. As quickly as I could make the deal and begin to suck all available oxygen to re-inflate my lungs, the roller coaster started its decent, only backwards this time, toward the hard asphalt hundreds of feet below. I tried to think of scripture to comfort me, and all that would come to mind was, “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me.”

When we had finally finished the ride, I tried to regain my composure. As I sat there my color began to come back as my vital organs decided to spare the blood it had so recently stockpiled. I checked and quickly realized that I had not soiled my britches and I began to shake out my stiffened arms that had been placed under extreme stress from gripping the handrails. I limped away with my chest stuck out, thinking, “I’m one bad dude.” I believe I was even able to muster up the broken words to my son, “You see, boy, that wasn’t all that bad was it!”

I don’t do roller coasters and I’m afraid of heights. Get me above my 15’ deer stand with safety harness and I’m out of my element. Riding this roller coaster was totally out of my character. Having said that, you may be asking, “Why did you do it then?” Well, I told my son, Cade (pictured above) on our recent vacation to Disney World that if he would ride Disney’s new roller coaster, “Everest,” then I would too. By now you already know what his horrific answer was.

When the feeling came back to my body and I reflected on what had just happened, I was so proud that I had done it. Had it not been for my son, you would have never gotten me near that roller coaster. It was totally out of my character and way out of my comfort zone. Because of my son, I was able to experience “Everest” and subsequently enjoy many of Disney’s other adventurous rides on our vacation.

We all have our own “Everest’s.” I surely have many, the least of which is a roller coaster. For many Christians, a major Everest to conquer is the fear of sharing your faith with an unbeliever. It’s also more difficult for some to step away from the familiarity of home and venture to a place far away where things are different and tell others about Jesus. Just like my son, who helped me overcome some recent roller coaster fears, there is another “son” that helps us ascend these mighty Everests in our lives. This August, 15 of our HOS fellas are facing these two fears head on and venturing to Alaska to share the Good News of Jesus. It’s the 2nd Annual HOS mission trip, the first mission trip ever for many of the guys. Our hope is that others will come to know the hope and love found in Christ and we as men will continue to discover the life of adventure and thrills that come with a life with the “son.”



"The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."
1 John 5:13-13